No matter how reporters framed the question, Bengals quarterback Jake Browning wouldn’t take the bait.

Never mind that the Vikings cut him a couple of seasons ago. He claimed Saturday’s game in Cincinnati was like any another game on the schedule.

Yet when the Bengals secured their 27-24 victory over the Vikings with a chip-shot field goal in overtime, Browning sought out a camera as the ball sailed through the uprights, screaming, “They never should have cut me!”

So much for just like any another game on the schedule.

“You can’t say that the whole week and then go lose,” Browning said with a grin. “You kind of just wait until we win and then don’t look like an idiot.”

After downplaying the personal importance of Saturday’s game, Browning finally admitted that there was some extra motivation going against his former team. He used it as fuel while leading a big comeback, finishing 29 of 42 passing for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“I’m not going to sit here and say it’s not a good feeling,” Browning said. “It’s much better than losing.”

In that moment, Browning recalled how he felt on Aug. 31, 2021 when the Vikings decided to roll with rookie quarterback Kellen Mond as the backup to franchise quarterback Kirk Cousins. The front office delivered the news to Browning and informed him there might be a spot open on the practice squad. They told him to go back to the team hotel and wait by his phone.

“I sat there for a couple of hours not knowing if I had a job or not, then basically got a call from my agent,” Browning said. “They didn’t even tell me. I’ve been cut my fair share of times and that was probably the (expletive). There was a little bit more this week.”

If the Vikings never cut Browning back then, he might currently be under center with Cousins on the shelf. In that alternate universe he would have had a couple of seasons to learn exactly what head coach Kevin O’Connell is looking for in a backup.

Instead, the Bengals signed Browning to their practice squad shortly after the Vikings cut him. He spent a couple of seasons developing behind star quarterback Joe Burrow. Now after taking over due to Burrows’ injury, Browning has a chance to lead a playoff push.

No doubt the win over his former team helped his cause. Asked how he was feeling in the immediate aftermath, Browning smiled, then replied, “I feel like I need a beer.”

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